Federal hate crime list to expand to protect gay people

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Physical attacks on people based on their sexuality or gender will join the list of federal hate crimes. It's a major expansion of a civil rights-era law, which protects people against hate crimes based on their race, religion, or national origin.

Congress approved the measure Thursday and sent it to President Obama. It is named for MatthewShepard, the gay Wyoming college student who was brutally murdered 11 years ago.